2024 Australian MotoGP: Marc Marquez leads wild practice, Jorge Martin crashes
Marquez leads a GP23 1-2-3 Friday’s only session
Marc Marquez led a frantic hour-long 🌄practice at the 2024 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix which s🔜aw championship leader Jorge Martin crash and a brief red flag.
After heavy rain cancelled the FP1 session this morning at Ph🍷illip Island, conditions had mercifully improveꦦd significantly for what would be the only MotoGP running of the day in the hour-long Practice.
Setting hiꦚs stall out early in the session, 𓆉Marquez would ultimately lead the way with a 1m27.770s from his Gresini team-mate Alex Marquez.
Chꩲampionship leader Jorge Martin was fourth after suffering an early crash on his Pramac Ducati, while tit💙le rival Francesco Bagnaia trailed him in fifth.
Late crashes for Peꦍdro Acosta and Jack Miller proved costly for them as they were dumped out of the Q2 places.
With the threat of rain l🔴ooming over the P🦄hillip Island circuit, the start to the hour-long afternoon session was busy as everyone pushed to get some knowledge of the new track surface and get a lap time on the board.
Marc Marquez set the early pace at 1m29.413s, while Martin crashed at Turn 4 when he made c🐎ontact with the rear of Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha trying to avoid a bigger accident.
Miller would crash for the first time at the same corner - renamed🍌 in his honour last year - moments later when he ran wide onto the wet grass.
Aprili🌊a’s Maverick Vinales took over at the top of the standings with 10 minutes of♔ the session gone, the Spaniard setting a 1m29.383s.
However, Marquez would find his way to the🔯 top of the order soon after with a 1m29.020s. The red flags were flown a couple of minutes after this due to some wildlife on circuit.
The stoppage was brief, with KTM’s Miller quickly getting back up to speed 🐲with a 1m28.731s to go fastestღ of all with just under 35 minutes to go.
Marquez and Vinales would trade first place over the next 20 minutes, before the former cemented top spot 🦩with a 1m27.770s with eight minutes to go when he fitted a fresh soft rear tyre.
A🃏 late 1m27.872s f🌳rom Alex Marquez pushed him up to second, while VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi was third to complete a GP23 1-2-3.
Martin was fo💯urth on the first of t𝔉he GP24s after his early spill, while Bagnaia completed the top five having looked scrappy in the opening half of the session.
Vinales was the only April🧜ia to secure a direct Q2 place in sixth, with Brad Binder the only KTM in the top 10 a꧒fter team-mate Miller crashed for a second time at the end of the session and Tech3 rookie Pedro Acosta also fell.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46), ไPramac’s Franco Morbidelli and Yamaha’s Alex Rins completed the top 10.
Quartararo did hold a place inside the top 10 as the chequered flag came𒉰 out, but late improvements for others saw him shuffled into Q1 in ꧒11th.
Johann Zarco was the top of the Hondas having been inside the top 10 fo♒r so long, while Enea Bastianini’s hopes of holding onto thi🍃rd in the standings look harder this weekend after ending Practice on his factory Ducati in 16th.
